William Reynolds obit

William Reynolds, Special Agent Tom Colby on ‘The F.B.I.,’ Dies at 90 

After appearing in two films for Douglas Sirk, he starred in three short-lived series and on an acclaimed episode of 'The Twilight Zone.' 

 

He was not on the list.

William Reynolds, who portrayed crime-stopping Special Agent Tom Colby opposite Efrem Zimbalist Jr. on the final seven seasons of the ABC crime drama The F.B.I., has died. He was 90.

Reynolds died Wednesday in Wildomar, California, from non-COVID 19 complicated pneumonia, a family spokesperson announced.

The Los Angeles native also starred in three other series, all short-lived: as the trumpet player on the 1959 NBC drama Pete Kelly’s Blues, created by Jack Webb; on ABC’s The Islanders, a 1960-61 adventure show set in the East Indies; and on the World War II-set The Gallant Men, which ran on ABC from 1962-63.

In 1960, Reynolds memorably played a WWII officer who can’t ignore an ominous light on the faces of his men destined to be killed in the acclaimed Twilight Zone season-one episode “The Purple Testament.”

On the big screen, he appeared in the Douglas Sirk-directed melodramas All That Heaven Allows (1955) and There’s Always Tomorrow (1956); worked with Donald O’Connor and a mule in Francis Goes to West Point (1952); and starred in the cult sci-fi film The Thing That Couldn’t Die (1958).

After making guest appearances on the first two seasons of The F.B.I., from Warner Bros. Television and producer Quinn Martin, Reynolds won the break of his career when he was hired in 1967 to play Colby alongside Zimbalist as Inspector Lewis Erskine.

He stayed with the show through its 1974 conclusion, then turned his back on Hollywood and became a successful businessman.

Born William de Clerq Regnolds on Dec. 9, 1931, Reynolds appeared in three films in 1951: Dear Brat, No Questions Asked and, as the son of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel (James Mason), in The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel.

In 1952, Reynolds signed a contract with Universal Pictures and played the son of Laurence Olivier’s character in Carrie and Mustapha, the best friend of Tony Curtis’ Kashma Baba, in The Son of Ali Baba. Those were just two of the seven movies he appeared in that year.

After military service in Japan during the Korean War, Reynolds returned to Universal and co-starred in the supernatural thriller Cult of the Cobra (1955), followed by turns in Away All Boats (1956), The Land Unknown (1957), Mister Cory (1957) and The Big Beat (1958).

An encounter with Webb led to a more productive career in series television, and his small-screen résumé included guest-star stints on Bronco, The Millionaire, Wagon Train, The Roaring 20’s, Cheyenne, Dragnet and Maverick.

In February 1960, Reynolds and Richard L. Bare, creator of The Islanders, were injured when their plane crashed in the Caribbean after they filmed an episode of the series. The pair, along with two others, survived after swimming four miles to the coast of Jamaica.

He was married for 42 years to actress Molly Sinclair until her death in 1992.

Survivors include their children, Carrie (and her husband, Brian) and Eric (and his wife, Nikki); grandchildren Anthony and Nicholas; and great-grandchild Gianni.

A public memorial service and tribute will be held at 1 p.m. on Sept. 10 at the Miller Jones Menifee Memorial Park in Menifee, California.

Actor (42 credits)

 1989 Hairway to the Stars (Short)

Detective

 1978 Project U.F.O. (TV Series)

Roger Forman

- Sighting 4018: The Incident on the Cliffs (1978) ... Roger Forman

 1966-1974 The F.B.I. (TV Series)

Special Agent Tom Colby / SAC Kendall Lisbon / Franklin Benton

- The Animal (1974) ... Special Agent Tom Colby

- The Killing Truth (1973) ... Special Agent Tom Colby

- The Loper Gambit (1973) ... Special Agent Tom Colby

- Night of the Long Knives (1973) ... Special Agent Tom Colby

- Memory of a Legend (1973) ... Special Agent Tom Colby

 1967 Dragnet 1967 (TV Series)

Sgt. William Riddle

- The Bookie (1967) ... Sgt. William Riddle

 1966 Follow Me, Boys!

Hoodoo Henderson - Man

 1966 O.K. Crackerby! (TV Series)

Tony

- Operation Susan (1966) ... Tony

 1964 A Distant Trumpet

1st Lt. Teddy Mainwarring

 1963 Temple Houston (TV Series)

Paul Bannerman

- The Siege at Thayer's Bluff (1963) ... Paul Bannerman

 1962-1963 The Gallant Men (TV Series)

Capt. Jim Benedict

- Tommy (1963) ... Capt. Jim Benedict

- The Crucible (1963) ... Capt. Jim Benedict

- A Taste of Peace (1963) ... Capt. Jim Benedict

- Ol' Buddy (1963) ... Capt. Jim Benedict

- One Puka Puka (1963) ... Capt. Jim Benedict

 1963 FBI Code 98 (TV Movie)

Special Agent Edward Fox

 1962 Red Nightmare (Short)

Ralph (uncredited)

 1961 Cheyenne (TV Series)

Johnny Tremayne

- The Brahma Bull (1961) ... Johnny Tremayne

 1961 The Roaring 20's (TV Series)

Jerry Bolton

- Nobody's Millions (1961) ... Jerry Bolton

 1960-1961 The Islanders (TV Series)

Sandy Wade

- The World Is Her Oyster (1961) ... Sandy Wade

- The Pearls of Ratu (1961) ... Sandy Wade

- La Costa Vendetta (1961) ... Sandy Wade

- A Rope for Charlie Munday (1961) ... Sandy Wade

- Island Witness (1961) ... Sandy Wade

 1960 The Twilight Zone (TV Series)

Lt. Fitzgerald

- The Purple Testament (1960) ... Lt. Fitzgerald

 1959 The Millionaire (TV Series)

Timothy Mackail

- Millionaire Timothy Mackail (1959) ... Timothy Mackail

 1958-1959 Maverick (TV Series)

Johnny Rain / Ted Blake / Reynolds / ...

- A Cure for Johnny Rain (1959) ... Johnny Rain

- Holiday at Hollow Rock (1958) ... Ted Blake

- Diamond in the Rough (1958) ... Reynolds (uncredited)

- Rope of Cards (1958) ... Bill Gregg

 1959 Pete Kelly's Blues (TV Series)

Pete Kelly

- The 16-Bar Tacet (1959) ... Pete Kelly

- The Joe Artevekian Story (1959) ... Pete Kelly

- The Fitzhugh Story (1959) ... Pete Kelly

- The Emory Cusack Story (1959) ... Pete Kelly

- The Gus Trudo Story (1959) ... Pete Kelly

 1959 Wagon Train (TV Series)

Roger Garrett

- The Clara Duncan Story (1959) ... Roger Garrett

 1959 Zane Grey Theatre (TV Series)

Bruce McVeigh

- The Last Raid (1959) ... Bruce McVeigh

 1959 Bronco (TV Series)

Dick Nelson / Pete Loomis

- Borrowed Glory (1959) ... Dick Nelson

- Baron of Broken Lance (1959) ... Pete Loomis

 1958 The Thing That Couldn't Die

Gordon Hawthorne

 1958 The Big Beat

John Randall

 1957 The Land Unknown

Lt. Jack Carmen

 1957 Mister Cory

Alex Wyncott

 1957 Lux Video Theatre (TV Series)

Jim Bullock

- It Happened on Fifth Avenue (1957) ... Jim Bullock

 1956 Away All Boats

Ens. Kruger

 1956 There's Always Tomorrow

Vinnie Groves

 1955 All That Heaven Allows

Ned Scott

 1955 Cult of the Cobra

Pete Norton

 1953 Gunsmoke

Brazos

 1953 The Mississippi Gambler

Pierre Loyette

 1952 The Raiders

Frank Morrell

 1952 Son of Ali Baba

Mustapha

 1952 Francis Goes to West Point

Wilbur Van Allen

 1952 Carrie

George Hurstwood, Jr. (as William Regnolds)

 1952 Has Anybody Seen My Gal

Howard Blaisdell

 1952 The Battle at Apache Pass

Lem Bent

 1952 The Cimarron Kid

Will Dalton (uncredited)

 1951 The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel

Manfred Rommel (uncredited)

 1951 No Questions Asked

Floyd (as William Regnolds)

 1951 Dear Brat

Robbie